Khodorkovsky's lawyer ordered out of country

Robert Amsterdam, a Canadian lawyer acting for the jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was expelled from Russia yesterday.

The ejection came a day after the oil tycoon's appeal against conviction on fraud and tax-evasion charges was rejected.

Mr Amsterdam said police arrived at his Moscow hotel at 1am and searched his belongings. "They told me to leave within 24 hours," he said, before flying to London last night. "This points to the corrupted mindset of the Russian authorities. I've been ejected because I attempted to fight a political prosecution."